True Pirate King Luffy
by Uchiha D Dragon
Summary: A young man and his dreams head out to sea, to fulfill a promise. Follow his journey, to honor his word and accomplish his dreams. I do not own One Piece in any way. Dark Luffy, Grey Straw-Hat Pirates, Smart Luffy, OP Luffy, Swordsman Luffy, New Crewmates, Light Romance.
1. Chapter 1 (10-03 20:08:22)

**_The Speech of Dreams_**

'Wealth, Fame, Power.'

These were held by the man who had acquired everything, The Pirate King, Gold Roger.

His last words before his execution have inspired pirates around the world.

"You want my treasure? Take it … It's yours. I will give it to those who can find it. I have gathered everything I own in this world in one place!" Gold Rogers told the crowd.

A massive cheer erupted from all the people who witnessed the scene.

This was the end of an age. And the beginning of an era.

THE GREAT PIRATE ERA!


	2. Chapter 2

**_Will_** ** _of the Conqueror_**

Dawn Island, Foosha Village.

A child of almost seven years old sat on a stool, in a bar, staring in awe at the man before him. The boy wore a white shirt with the picture of an anchor, with some fairly baggy blue jean shorts. His name was Monkey D. Luffy. "Ahh, please Shanks, I'll be there best Pirate you ever seen!" the boy begged.

The man mentioned, that Luffy stared and asked to join was a known pirate named 'Red Hair' Shanks. Shanks is a tall athletic built man. He wore a half buttoned white long sleeve shirt, dark blue pants and a long black captain's cloak.

"Ha ha ha, why would I let you join, you can't even swim! What good's a pirate that can't even swim? " Shanks jested.

The boys worship quickly turned anger at being made fun of. "Hey, quit making fun of me you jerk! It doesn't matter I'll just stay on the ship." Luffy yelled.

A man named Yasopp with curly brown hair, navy blue shirt and beige pants. "Luffy, it's not about how well you can swim or always having to stay on the ship, there's more to being a pirate than that!" he answered from sitting slouched in his chair.

"But I can fight! My punches are like a Pistol!" Luffy replied.

"Is that so? Your punches are like pistols?" Shanks asked.

"What are you trying to say by that Shanks!?" Luffy screams.

A big fat man named Lucky Roo, with a piece of meat on the bone in his hand spoke up, "Luffy you're just a little kid..."

"Yeah, you're right Lucky, Luffy's about the same age as my kid Usopp back home." Yasopp said.

"I'm not a kid! I'm a MAN!" Luffy angrily yelled.

"Don't get so upset, here have some milk Luffy," Shanks gives Luffy a glass of milk.

"Thanks Shanks!" Luffy greedily gulped the milk down smiling like a kid the whole time.

Shanks slaps his hand down on the counter laughing at luffy "See! He really is a kid!"

"Shanks! You tricked me!" Luffy screamed. "Don't you laugh at me!" Luffy glared at the other patrons of the bar. In doing so a light wave of pressure was emitted from Luffy's body. Only Shanks, Yasopp, Lucky Roo and another man sitting at a table smoking noticed it came from Luffy.

Before anyone can speak a large group of men approach the bar, the leader kicking the door in with a grunt. " Humph!" Everyone in the bar stops all conversation and stares at the man that chose to damage the kind barmaids door. Except Shanks, who continues to eat his meal as if nothing has happened.

The leader of this particular band of bandits is a taller man with long black hair, beady black eyes and a long black trench coat brandishing a scimitar sword on his hip. "So these are pirates are they? They don't look like much to me." He walks up to the bar and asks the barmaid Makino. "We aren't here to trash your bar, we want to buy 10 barrels of your finest sake." While his men sneer at the pirates in the background.

"Sorry, we are all out of sake," Makino answered the man.

"Hmm, that's strange. These Pirates are all drinking sake right now..." The bandit leader inquired.

"That is because they bought all the sake we had in stock," Makino apologised.

"Ah that's no good, it seems we drank everything." Shanks stated from the bar. "If you want, you can have this" Shanks offered the man his bottle of sake.

This seems to upset the bandit leader a great deal, so he breaks the sake bottle spilling the contents all over the bar, floor, and mostly all over Shanks face.

"I'm Higuma, a wanted man. Worth $8,000,000 Berri's last I checked. One bottle isn't going to be enough for me, pirate!" The bandit leader lm no no I'm.

Shanks bends over and proceeds to pick up the broken glass "Do you have a mop Makino?" Shanks asked.

"I'll take care of it!" Makino rushes over to the front of the bar and helps Shanks clean up the mess.

The Higuma unsheathes his sword and slashes it across the bar breaking several bottles, while he laughs at Makino and Shanks. "Since you pathetic pirates like to clean so much, clean that!"

Luffy was watching this the whole time like it was in slow motion, as he waited for his hero to step up and give this no name bandit a beating.

As he was watching he felt a hunger settle in and thought it would be nice to have a snack while he watched the drama unfold. 'Hmm this looks tasty,' Luffy thought as he picks up a round purple swirl looking fruit, that was sitting in an open box on the counter.

The fruit was left untended by the current affairs in the bar. He took a bite and swallowed the fruit before nearly vomited from the terrible taste. As he watched Shanks, his idol and the strongest man in his little world let himself be pushed around, he was getting more and more pissed at what was happening.

The bandits finished laughing then turned to leave the bar. Once the bandits left Luffy yelled at his idol,"Shanks! What are you doing! Why didn't you fight back!" The strange pressure returned with Luffy's yell, the force of it cracking the counter of the bar. This display of will caused some of the weaker willed pirates to collapse mid drink.

"Ah, Luffy it's alright, it's just some spilled sake. No need to get upset over that is there?"

"Shanks but if you don't fight back you're not a Man!" Luffy retorts quickly.

"Hey Captain was that Haki coming from Luffy?" Yasopp asked Shanks.

"Yes, we will discuss it later, but he seems to have a lot of potential," the red haired man responded to his crewman. Shanks then proceeds to comfort Luffy when he notices the chest with the fruit in it was missing it's cargo.

" Hey who's seen what happened to the devil fruit that was in the chest!" Shanks says loudly enough to get everyone's attention.

" Oh that fruit that was in the chest I ate it, but it was really nasty I almost barfed it up." Luffy informs him.

Shanks looks at Luffy then yelled, " You Idiot!! Come here right now and spit it out Luffy."

Shanks grabbed Luffy by the ankles and started to shake the boy like a rag doll. However, he was too late. On a downward jerk, Luffy's neck extended until his face hit the floor.

As the boy dealt with this new shock, Shanks cried out in frustration. "Luffy, do you know what that fruit was? It was the Gomu Gomu no Mi! You're a rubberman and you'll never be able to swim again!" Shanks closed his eyes.

It was a few days later, and the Red-Haired Pirates were preparing to leave for a while to enjoy the freedom of the ocean.

 ** _*Flashback*_**

The day before, Luffy had challenged the bandits in a fight for Shanks' honor. He'd been brutally beaten, until Shanks showed up with his crew.

Higuma had fled to the sea and dumped Luffy in the coastal waters, only for Higuma to be attacked and devoured by Lord of the Coast, the local Sea King an instant later. Shanks had arrived just in time to save Luffy from the same fate.

As Shanks grabbed Luffy with his right arm the Sea King chewed off his left arm just above the elbow. Shanks looks to Luffy asking if he is alright. He then turns his gaze to the Sea King and a wave of immense pressure followed by the chill of death fell upon the Lord of the Coasts body. "Get...Lost!" Shanks spoke like a low growl. The Sea King turned and fled. "You'll be alright Luffy, you're safe now," Shanks comforted the boy.

"But Shanks your ARM!" Luffy cried.

The red haired man looks to Luffy and gives him a warm smile, "An arm is a small price to pay for my friends life."

 ** _*Flashback End*_**

"Luffy how about I train you for the next year before me and my crew ship off for good. I see unlimited amount of potential in you.You have a special gift known as Haki. Haki is the willpower that is found in every living being in the world. It is not that different from the normal senses. However, most people do not notice it or fail to awaken it. Broadly speaking, there are two types of Haki available to everyone, given the proper training or your affinity for either; however, there is a third type that only a certain group of 'chosen ones' are said to possess. And you are one of those chosen few. In simple terms, Haki is an ability to sense spiritual energy (Observation), empower the physical (Armament) and overpower enemies with will (Conqueror's)."

"So it's a mystery power that makes you stronger?" Luffy asks Shanks. Shanks sweatdrops at Luffy's response but nods anyway.

"Sure Luffy, how about I also teach you a few things all pirates should know before going out to sea."

Luffy looks up to him then nods his head.

...A year passes...

Luffy now seven almost eight, is at the docks saying goodbye to his hero and mentor.

Luffy and Shanks were having a last farewell. Or rather, Shanks was provoking Luffy until he exploded.

"Shut up! I don't want to go with your crew, even though I won the bet and learned to use all three types of Haki in less than a year!" Luffy cried, yelling his true feelings for the entire crew to hear. "I'll start my own crew that will be even stronger than yours, travel the world having great adventures, and then I'll find One Piece. I'M GOING TO BE THE PIRATE KING!" The words seemed to echo faintly, as if they carried fate's will.

Shanks grinned, and said "Is that so?" With that, he plucked his favorite straw hat off his head and gave it to Luffy.

He leaned forward and spoke in a voice only the two of them could hear. "Listen, Luffy. You have a special power, and not just your Devil's Fruit either. You have the Conqueror's Will. Be careful with it. You have no idea how dangerous it can be. Never use it on your friends unless you absolutely have to." Shanks pulled back, and said in a distinctly softer and brighter tone "That's my favorite straw hat. Keep it safe for me, please. You can return it to me… as a great pirate."

"Shanks don't worry about your hat I promise to keep it safe until I return it. And I'll train what you taught me everyday until I become The Pirate King!" Luffy tells Shanks assuredly.

Shanks turned to board his ship, as rivers of tears fell from Luffy's eyes. As Shanks waved the island goodbye and set out to the seas he loved, he thought to himself 'Grow strong, Luffy. With a Devil's Fruit and the Will of the Conqueror… you could become the Pirate King.'

...A couple weeks past...

Luffy laid down exhausted from his haki training regiment he learned from Shanks.

Suddenly the door and wall exploded inward, as an old man wearing a charcoal colored suit and a marine overcoat upon his shoulders came in.

"Grandpa! What are you doing breaking down my house?" Luffy asked.

"You're coming with me, Luffy," his grandfather responded, in a no nonsense tone.

After putting up a fight and failing, Luffy's grandfather grabbed Luffy by his hip, forcefully, taken out of Foosha Village and into the island's forest.

"I told you already grandpa! I'm going to be King of the Pirates!" Luffy yelled.

"King of the Pirates my ass. Not only did you eat a Devil's Fruit, but you have the gall to speak to me that way!" his grandfather yelled, giving him a 'Fist of Love'. "Luffy, both you and Ace will become the strongest Marines that have ever lived when you grow up!"

"Why does this hurt if I'm rubber?" Luffy asked, "Ace who's that, let me go Grandpa!"

"It was a mistake for me to leave you here in this village," his grandpa responded.

They arrived at a house in the mountains.

"Dadan! Get out here!" Garp yelled from outside the door.

A huge female mountain bandit and some men came out.

"G...Garp! You need to hurry up and give me a break already! That Ace boy is already 10, you know!" the woman name Dadan complained, "I'm not gonna be able to handle much more of that monster! Take him back already!"

Dadan looked at Luffy.

"Huh? Who is this?" Dadan asked, "You're bringing me another of your grandsons?"

"Yeah ... so choose, you bandits. Live the rest of your lives in prison, or raise this little guy," Garp explained frankly, "I'm keeping all Marine eyes closed to your crimes, which are quite a few, if I have to number them..."

"Well... yeah, we don't want to be arrested, but sometimes I wonder if prison is really worse than this!" Dadan replied, "I'm already at my wit's end with Ace alone, and now you want me to take care of another grandson? He's a little monster, isn't he? Just like the other one!"

A ball of spit shot by Luffy from his left that he dodged.

"Hey! Who did that?" Luffy asked.

"Hey Ace!" Garp greeted.

"Wow! So you came back, Ace?" Dadan asked.

Luffy turned to a boy that looked older than him, with black hair, wearing regular clothes and had a sturdy looking stick in his hand.

"Who are you?" Luffy asked.

"That's Portgas D. Ace. He's 3 years older than you. You're gonna live with him out here from today on, so you better get along with him, got it?" Garp told Luffy.

"Humph, Ace!" Luffy snorted.

"I'm entrusting my grandsons to you guys," Garp told Dadan as he punched both children on the head turned and left.


	3. Chapter 3

**_A Tale of Three Brothers_**

Luffy had been forced to stay with the mountain bandits from that day forward.

"I hate mountain bandits," Luffy complained.

"Shut up, we're tired of the likes of you already!" Dadan yelled at Luffy, "If you don't like it here, get the hell out and starve to death!"

"Calm down boss," one of the men told Dadan.

"I want more food!" Luffy complained.

"Ace went out and captured this! He gives us some of his own hunts to help out around here ..." Dandan told Luffy, "You will have a lot of work starting tomorrow! You will clean up the compound, do the laundry and sharpen the weapons! As well as rob and steal from people! And you better not tell Garp what you are doing here!"

"I refuse," Luffy said with no room for argument.

"A bowl of rice and water each meal. That is all you can have. Anything else you need to get or grow on your own you little monster," Dadan told Luffy.

"I'll agree to that," Luffy accepted.

"Whatever!" Dadan responded.

"Grandpa abandoned me in the jungle once before. Then Shanks taught me how to use Haki for almost a year. I can hunt birds, frogs, snakes, boar, find berries and mushrooms as long as I want. If I am going to fulfill my promise to be a great pirate, I must be able to feed myself at least!"

Ace frowned, got up and then left the house.

"Where is Ace going?" a man asked.

Luffy got up and trounced out right behind him.

"Wait, where are you going? Did you just say pirate?" the bandits yelled at Luffy.

Luffy headed outside, following right behind Ace.

"Hey Ace!" Luffy yelled.

Ace turned to Luffy, and wasn't too happy to see him following.

"My name is Luffy. I'm not angry about you spitting at me anymore!" Luffy yelled, "Let's be friends!"

Ace broke down a small tree and had it roll at Luffy.

Ace left, unaware that Luffy directed enough Haki to stop the tree from even getting close.

As Ace was crossing a rope bridge, he heard someone approaching him.

Ace turned to see it was Luffy still following him with a smile.

"Nice try, but a tree could never stop me!" Luffy told Ace as he moved onto the rope bridge behind Ace.

Ace started shaking the bridge until Luffy fell off. Ace then proceeded home without Luffy.

"Ace why are you back, alone? Weren't you with Luffy?" one of Dadans' men asked, "Where is he?"

"Who knows!" Ace replied.

A week passed since Luffy went missing.

"Hey boss! Luffy been missing for a while now. This won't turn out good for us!" one of the men told Dadan.

"Who cares? If he dies so be it, we can't do anything about it," Dadan retorted, "It's not like we even really watch Ace. It doesn't even matter if he's dead, we'll just tell Garp it was an accident."

Ace was listening into their conversation from where he stood in the house.

"Think what will happen if the government finds out! He is the son of the the most wanted man on the planet, Monkey D. Dragon, after all!" Dadan said, "Do you know what the government would do to us for protecting that demon?"

"Calm down boss," one of the men said.

Ace remained quiet, but knew they were talking about Luffy.

...One Week Later...

Luffy finally returned to the house, a little worse for wear, but no real injuries.

"Dadan! Luffy came back!" one of the men yelled.

"He's still alive!" Dadan yelled coming into the room to see Luffy, "Where have you been?"

"Calm down boss," one of the men told Dadan.

"I fell off a bridge, fought a bear and was chased by wolves, but after a while I tamed them." Luffy told them exactly what happened.

"Don't lie to me you brat!" Dadan yelled.

They helped clean Luffy up and he went to bed.

Ace was still awake when Luffy came in and was surprised to see he was still alive.

"You were really chased by wolves?" Ace asked Luffy.

"Yeah, after I fell off the bridge but, before I beat the bear," Luffy replied, "and I tamed them."

"How on earth does a wimp like you tame a wild beast?" Ace asked.

"I'm not a wimp you jerk! I've had Conqueror's Haki even before I ate the Gum-Gum Devil Fruit. I can't fully control this power yet, but everytime I'm in danger, I'm able to unlock more of my power," Luffy replied, "In fact, that's how I stopped that tree that was rolling at me."

"What?" Ace questioned.

"Yeah I'm strong so it was easy, well good night," Luffy said as he fell asleep.

'Is this kid serious?' Ace thought.

Everyday from then on Luffy would try to follow Ace, after his haki training. Luffy also decided he didn't like chores so he never did them.

Luffy was chased by a lion, escaped falling boulders and avoided being eaten by a giant snake, all to follow Ace around the forest.

Each time Luffy used Haki to protect himself making his will grow stronger.

...Months passed…

Luffy finally reached the end of the forest.

"I finally made it out of the stupid forest," Luffy panted, "Now where's Ace at?"

Ace was in another section of the forest.

"Sabo! Are you out here?" Ace yelled.

A boy in a raggedy suit, wearing a top hat and holding a metal pipe was on a tree looking down to see Ace calling for him.

"Hey Ace!" Sabo greeted.

"Sorry for being late," Ace apologized.

"Don't worry about it, I already did my job," Sabo told him.

"Well I took some money for our stash," Ace said as he climbed the tree up to were Sabo was. Ace gave Sabo the money he stole.

"Awesome! You got more than me!" Sabo counted the money, "How did you get it?"

"I took it from a bunch of people near the High Town gate," Ace replied, "They might have been carriers for some merchant ship."

Sabo put the money in a hole they had in the tree with a door built in.

"It been 3 years since we started saving money to pay for our ship," Sabo informed Ace.

"Close it up before someone sees it Sabo," Ace told him.

"A pirate ship?" someone asked, "You guys want to be pirates?"

Both boys looked down and saw it was Luffy.

"I'm going to be a pirate too!" Luffy yelled.

Sabo and Ace attacked Luffy and tied him up to the tree.

Of course Luffy allowed them to do it, or else he would've used Haki to defend himself.

"So Ace, is this where you go to everyday?" Luffy asked.

"Shut up!" Ace yelled at Luffy.

"So this is the Luffy guy you were telling me about," Sabo said.

"How did you survive that path?" Ace asked Luffy.

"I used Haki and my Devil's Fruit powers to protect myself," Luffy replied.

"Devil Fruit powers and Haki again," Ace responded, "If that's true, what's your devil Fruit powers and why didn't you just use it on us when we tied you up?"

"I ate the Gum-Gum Fruit. And Shanks told me not to use Haki on a friend unless I have no other choice," Luffy replied.

"We're not friends!" Ace yelled.

"This is why I told you, you should live with me," Sabo told Ace, "What should we do about this kid, Ace? He knows our secret, and if we leave him, he'll tell someone."

"I won't tell a soul I promise. Not even Grandpa Garp," Luffy replied.

"Let's kill him," Ace suggested.

"I agree," Sabo agreed.

"You guys ever killed people before?" Luffy asked.

Sabo and Ace remained quiet, but obviously they haven't.

"If you haven't then let me go," Luffy replied.

"Shut up!" Ace and Sabo yelled.

"Hey! I heard children voices from here," someone yelled.

"Someone is coming," Sabo responded.

"We have to get out of here!" Ace replied.

Pirates were heading their way.

"Those little kids: Ace and Sabo, are famous around here," the leader Porchemy said, "Are you sure that Ace took your money?"

"Yes sir... I'm ashamed to admit it, but he got me by surprise," one of the pirates replied.

"What a stupid child. To take money from our crew! If Captain Blue Jam hears about this, he'll kill us all," Porchemy said.

Ace and Sabo had untied Luffy and were hiding from the pirates.

"I think we should get out of here," Sabo said.

"How?" Ace asked.

They turned towards Luffy to see he was gone.

They look to see Luffy had attacked the men and now was being held by Porchemy.

"Let me go loser or else!" Luffy yelled.

"You're a bit young to be out here, are you Ace, or do you know Ace?" Porchemy asked.

"I'm not telling you anything!" Luffy yelled, "I'm going to protect my friends no matter what!"

"Friends?" Porchemy responded.

"Idiot! Why did he just reveal that he knew a us?" Ace whispered.

"Where's your friends now, do you know?" Porchemy asked.

"I'm not telling you," Luffy told him, "Now let go before I beat you with my power!"

The three pirates laughed.

"What kind of power would a kid have?" Porchemy asked.

"This!" Luffy roared.

Luffy called on his Conqueror's Haki, and summoned a force that knock the three men down.

Porchemy let go of Luffy and caused him to hit the floor gasping for breath.

"What just happened? He just knock down three men without touching them," Ace responded.

"That must be the Haki power Luffy told us about," Sabo responded, "But why did he use it now."

They then remembered what Luffy told them.

Flashback*

"Shanks told me not to use Haki on a friend unless I have no other choice," Luffy replied.

End of Flashback*

"He thought we were friends," Sabo suggested.

"That's why he didn't use it on us," Ace replied.

"What just happened?" one of the men said.

"That must be Haki," Porchemy said, "Since when does a kid know how to use Haki?

"I been able to use Haki for a long time now. That's not all..." Luffy replied as he grabbed his cheeks and stretch them, "I ate the Gum-Gum Devil Fruit, so my body is made out of rubber."

"Then normal attacks won't work on you," Porchemy responded.

Suddenly Ace and Sabo came at the men to attack them with some metal pipes.

"Ace," Luffy shouted.

Ace, Sabo and Luffy attacked the men, and manage to do some damage.

After beating them up they escaped.

Ace and Sabo took their treasure in bags and they along with Luffy got out of there.

"Hey Luffy, that move you used on them, was that the Haki thing you were telling us about?" Sabo asked.

"Yeah," Luffy responded.

"You think you can teach it to us?" Sabo asked.

"I never taught it to someone before, but sure," Luffy replied, "Does this mean I can hang out with you two?"

"Sure," Sabo responded, "You earned it kid. Right Ace?"

"Yeah, he earned it," Ace agreed, "But why did you follow me in the first place?"

"Because I don't have anyone else to turn to. I hate the mountain bandits, and I can't return to Foosha Village. Only relatives I know of is my grandpa," Luffy replied, "You're the only person I met who I can relate too."

Ace remember people talking about what would happened if Gold Rogers had a kid as well as what Dadan talking about the son of Monkey D. Dragon.

Truth was, he heard of Monkey D. Dragon and his reputation.

"I'm going to become a greatest pirate, and a powerful Haki user one day," Luffy said.

"Why stop at becoming a powerful Haki user? Why don't you become the Strongest Haki user known?" Ace asked, "I'm sure with that and the rubber power of yours, you probably can beatdown anyone."

"I never thought of it before," Luffy responded,

"Hey guys, I have a problem," Sabo told them, "Because of those pirates, I have no home to go to now."

"Why don't you stay with us then?" Luffy asked.

"Dadan will argue against it," Ace told Luffy.

"So what? She been arguing about me staying since I got here," Luffy retorted.

As predicted, Dadan wasn't too happy about watching over Sabo.

She repeated the same speech Luffy was given word for word.

Since then Sabo, Ace and Luffy became inseparable.

They trained their bodies and worked together to defeat wild animals. They snuck around stealing money from rich merchants.

Only time they did what Dadan told them to, was when Luffy was told to go to Foosha Village. This gave Luffy a chance to see Makino and the Mayor.

Luffy made Sabo and Ace promise not to steal from anyone he got along with in Foosha Village. They agreed since there was another town on the island filled with richer people they could steal from.

Makino got along with Ace and Sabo, she treated them nicely.

The Mayor, on other hand, wasn't too happy that Luffy made friends with kids that wanted to become pirates.

Garp would visit once a while putting the boys through a Marine Lieutenant workout. Garp then gave his punishment to the boys for wanting to become pirates instead of marines.

As promised, Luffy taught Sabo and Ace how to use the three types of Haki.

Ace was able to use the Conquerors' Haki like Luffy was able too, but Sabo was only able to use Armament and Observation Haki. They would constantly spar against each other. Testing each other's capabilities and strength.

Luffy had a good advantage with his Haki, but over time, and because of the Haki training, Sabo and Ace grew more resistant to it.

They also learned that Armament Haki can makes Devil Fruit powers useless in physical confrontations. Ace used his Armament Haki during a spar, when Luffy tried using his rubber powers and negated the effects.

Over time, Luffy became more proficient in combining his Devil Fruit powers and the three forms of Haki. He could manage a few hours of sparring against Ace and Sabo at the same time.

The trio were in a High Town surrounded by tall buildings running away from men they stole from.

"Somebody stop those kids!" a man yelled.

A passing man recognized Sabo escaping in the commotion.

"Sabo?! Is that really you! Wait right there!" the man yelled, "You need to come back home now!"

"Hey Sabo! Someone's yelling for you to come back!" Ace yelled.

"Who is that old guy?" Luffy asked.

"He must be mistaking me for someone else!" Sabo replied, "Luffy! It's your turn to cause the distraction!"

"I got it!" Luffy responded.

Luffy projected his Conqueror's Haki at the men and knock them out. Ace, Sabo and Luffy use this moment to escape back to the forest path.

As soon as they were safe, Luffy and Ace asked Sabo what's going on.

"I'm not hiding anything!" Sabo yelled.

"Tell the truth Sabo!" Luffy shouted.

"Give him the chance to speak," Ace told Luffy, "We shouldn't keep secrets from each other Sabo. So tells us what's really happening with that man."

Sabo looked ashamed, lowering his head, but knew he couldn't hide it anymore. "Alright, I'm the son of a noble," Sabo replied.

"Son of a noble!" Ace and Luffy stated as both started picking their nose, "So?"

"You're the ones who wanted to know!" Sabo yelled at them, "I'm not an orphan like I said. Both of my real parents are still alive. The man who was trying to get my attention was my father. I'm sorry I lied to you guys."

"Why didn't you just say so," Luffy responded.

"I didn't think that you would keep secrets from us," Ace said, "Why were you in the trash heap then?"

"My parents don't listen to me. They want me to be their perfect Noble boy and marry a girl I don't even like. All they ever care about was having me to protect the family status and fortune," Sabo explained, "If I couldn't marry into a royal family, I was trash to them."

"I understand," Ace replied.

"Ace, Luffy...we have to sail the sea one day! We can leave this island behind and gain freedom from people who would take it away," Sabo told them, "I want to travel the world and learn about what's out there! If it's sailing the sea, then I don't care how hard I have to work to get there! We've got to get stronger and become real pirates!"

Ace gave his rare grin.

"I already know that. I'm going to become a real pirate, letting my reputation become known around the world and show people what dreams are made of! " Ace yelled, "I don't care if the whole world doesn't want to accept me they can hate me all they like! I'll become a great pirate and prove my life is worth something! I won't run from anybody! I'll never quit! I don't care if they end up labeling me a fire breathing demon! I'm going to make sure the whole world knows my name."

"Me too!" Luffy yelled, "I'm going to gather the strongest crew, then travel around the entire world. We will train to get stronger everyday, I'll fight my way to the top until I become King of the Pirates and the Strongest Haki User to ever live!"

"What?" Ace and Sabo questioned.

Luffy grinned like a chess cat.

"Luffy, we were just playing about you becoming the Strongest Haki user ever," Ace told Luffy.

"Doesn't matter. If I become King of the Pirates, then I can also become the Strongest Haki user ever!" Luffy told them like it was common knowledge.

"Humph," Ace grunted.

"This seems like it's going to be a problem if all of us want to be captains," Sabo stated.

"Yeah, that really is a problem. I always thought that you were going to be my navigator, Sabo," Ace replied.

"I was hoping you would both join my crew!" Luffy complained.

"We'll just decide on the details when the time comes," Ace responded. Ace took out a bottle of sake and some cups.

"Where did you get this from Ace?" Luffy asked.

"Did you guys know, if we exchange drinks, then we can become brothers?" Ace asked as he poured some sake in each cup.

"Real Brothers?" Luffy asked.

"When we become pirates, we may not be able to end up on the same crew, but the bond of brotherhood we hold will never fade. No matter where we are, or what we do, this is one bond we can never break," Ace explained as he lifted his drink, "Starting today, we are brothers!'

"Cheers!" Sabo and Luffy agreed lifting their cups.

Months passed by and the three brothers were as thick as thieves. Garp stopped by to train his future Marines while he had some time off. Garp didn't argue against the boys acknowledging brotherhood. In fact, he was happy to train another 'Strong Marine'.

Garp even told them that he has big expectations if Sabo was going to be part of the family. Garp was expecting Sabo to become at least Vice Admiral.

Eventually Luffy, Ace and Sabo moved out of Dadan's place into their own hand built tree house.

Everything went well until that day Sabo's father found them with the help of some pirates

"Give Sabo back!" Luffy yelled.

Sabo's father was working with some pirates. One of the pirates had Sabo in his arms.

"Give him back? Try speaking some sense,urchins," Sabo's father told Luffy and Ace, "Sabo is my own flesh and blood! It is the duty of every child to live their lives however the parents want until they become an adult! How dare you urchins trick my Sabo to run away from his home! Dirty, rotten garbage, is it my fortune you are after?"

"What the hell did you say?" Ace asked. Ace was attacked by one of the pirates. Ace just used his Haki to knock the pirate out.

"Pathetic pirates! Be more serious how you deal with these kids!" Sabo's father told the pirates.

Sabo's leg was then coated with Armament Haki and kicked the pirate captain restraining him. Once loose he ran forward with his hands raised. "I give up!" Sabo yelled.

"Sabo don't?" Luffy yelled back.

"Sabo No!" Ace screamed.

"I'll do anything you want me to do. I'll live my life exactly the way you say! Just please don't hurt Luffy and Ace!" Sabo begged, "I'm begging you they mean more to me than anything they're my brothers!"

"Sabo!" Ace yelled.

Sabo left with his father willingly.

"Listen you two, I understand what you were trying to do, and I respect it," the captain name Bluejam told Luffy and Ace.

"What would you know?" Luffy asked.

"He's our brother, and we'll rescue him!" Ace yelled.

"Trust me, you two are better off not going near the kid again," Bluejam told them.

"But Sabo hates living in the Noble district!" Luffy yelled.

"You'll understand when you two grow up," Bluejam told them, "I still have a grudge to settle over stealing my money, but I figure let it go after today. Hell, you may be young, but you're both strong, and I like that. Now I'm actually a little short on hands right now. I would really appreciate your help with a little job?"

Bluejam took out a map of the Goa Kingdom.

"Here, this part of the map is the section of the whole grey terminal," Bluejam told them, "I want you to place some boxes to the spots marked with an 'X'. That's all I need help with."

Luffy and Ace decided to help since they steal from his crew all the time.

Sabo's father was trying to convince Sabo that everything he did was Luffy's and Ace's fault. Sabo disagreed with everything he said, knowing he made the choice himself.

Sabo learned that Luffy's and Ace's lives were in the hands of the BlueJam Pirates and Sabo's father has control over them.

After being questioned he was forced to live back with his family. Sabo learnt that he had an adopted brother after his disappearance and he didn't get along with him.

Then Sabo found information that the Grey Terminal was going to be burned and anyone caught in it would die.

On the ship, Luffy and Ace were in their beds.

"Do you think Sabo's doing okay?" Luffy asked.

"He has Haki now. He will be fine right now by himself," Ace replied.

"But his isn't like ours," Luffy responded.

"Just go to bed," Ace told Luffy.

...Next Day...

Sabo ran away again.

Ace and Luffy were working once more in the terminal. The captain finally told them the truth of their work. "What?" Ace and Luffy said in unison.

"Keep your voice down, you stupid brats, what if the people from the trash heap heard you?"

"You can't be serious!" Ace replied.

"We got to warn everyone!" Luffy yelled.

"I won't let you," the captain told them, "Now where's that treasure you stole?"

...Later that night...

The fires were started and the flames spread quickly.

Unfortunately for the pirates, they were forced to be caught in it as well.

Luffy and Ace manage to break out of the rope tie they were in, but still were in the flames.

"We got to get out of here," Ace shouted.

"Ace, stay with me!"Luffy told Ace.

Sabo was trying to get to Luffy and Ace as best as he can, but the guards stopped him.

Then a cloaked man came up to Sabo. The man stared at the guards and they feel over limp.

"What are your troubles, boy?" the man asked.

"Mister, the ones that brought this fire are the royals and the nobles. You've got to believe me!" Sabo begged, "I got to get out of here, and be free with my brothers."

Sabo look in the hood and saw a man with a tattoo on half his face.

"Oh, I understand I was born here in this country. Even still I do not have the power to change the ways of this world!" the man said.

"You believe me?" Sabo asked.

"Dragon! We have all preparations completed!" another man told the hooded man.

"Good," the hooded man known as Dragon responded.

Luffy and Ace were still caught in the flames.

"And who gave you permission to run?" someone asked.

They turned to see it was Bluejam.

"Don't let those two escape!" Bluejam told his crew.

The crew jumped quickly to capture Ace and Luffy.

"I don't know why you're friends with a nobleman, but we'll die together either way," Bluejam told them.

Luffy got so angry that he expelled a great force of Conqueror's Haki that knocked everyone out, and even staggered Ace a little.

"Luffy thanks!" Ace responded.

"Don't worry let's get out of here Ace!" Luffy told him.

'Maybe he can be the strongest Haki user ever,' Ace thought.

"You monster!" Bluejam yelled as he staggered to his feet.

"Give it up already you sea urchins!" Dadan yelled bursting in, smashing a wooden club at the head of Bluejam.

"Dadan!" Luffy and Ace cried out.

"You were put under my charge, you didn't think I would let you escape did you?" Dadan told Luffy and Ace.

Dadans' men arrived to tie up the pirates that were still unconscious.

"Let's get out of here!" Dadan ordered.

"No! I won't run!" Ace yelled.

"Me neither I'm going to finish this fight till one of us die!" Luffy roared.

"Crazy kids, you twerps are monsters, I guess I'll help you," Dadan told them.

"You three think you can take down me?" Bluejam asked.

… Next Day...

Somehow the fire ended, but with no word from Luffy, Ace or Dadan. Wishing for freedom Sabo proceeds to leave the country on a fishing vessel.

However, when the ship of the Celestial Dragons arrived off the coast, they shot down Sabo's boat because it had a pirate flag hoisted.

The bandits witnessed the destruction of Sabo's boat and what they believed to be Sabo's death. "Looks like Sabo has joined his brothers," the shortest bandit said. A half an hour later Luffy arrived while carrying Ace and Dadan.

"Hey guys!" Luffy greeted.

The bandits look surprised to see him, then depressed at what they must tell them.

"What's going on?" Dadan asked.

That was when they were told about Sabo's demise at the hands of the Celestial Dragon's ship.

"I can't believe he's dead, I miss him already." Luffy said.

"Me neither," Ace responded.

"Ace, Luffy you have a letter here for you!" Dadan told them.

Ace took the letter and opened it. It read:

"Ace, Luffy

I hope you weren't hurt in the fire? I'm worried about you both, but I have faith that both of you made it out alive. I feel kind of bad telling you this, but if you're reading this letter, I'll already have set sail.

The one thing I crave is freedom and so it looks like I'll be heading out to sea ahead of you guys. Once I'm safely away, I'll get stronger and become a real pirate.

Once all three of us have become pirates, with more freedom than anyone in the world, let's meet again someday. Somewhere out there in the wide open sea, I know I'll see you both again.

Ace. I don't know which of us is the eldest? It's a bit strange for us both to be the eldest brother, but this bond we share is my greatest treasure. Luffy. You may be strong with your Haki, but you must promise me that you will learn everything a great pirate needs to know before you set sail. Ace look after him for me, he needs to take being a pirate more seriously. I'll meet you on the sea dreams!"

"He wanted us to accomplish our goals," Ace said.

"Yeah," Luffy agreed.

"Let's do it, for Sabo," Ace told Luffy.

"Yes, Ace I'll get stronger and will read more to become smarter just like he asked!" Luffy said with a strong determined glint in his eyes. "I'll show the entire world that I'm the greatest pirate ever!"

"Until then, I'll protect you," Ace responded.

"Right, hey Ace can we go to the library? I want to learn it all now so I don't have to do it later." Luffy said with a smile.

"Sure thing Luffy the first thing you need to learn is navigation." Ace replied as the two boys headed towards Foosha Village.

... A few years later...

Ace helped Luffy to grow stronger. Ace also went with Luffy to the library everyday learning about the different seas and how to navigate them. They even learned a little on ship maintenance and firing cannons.

Eventually Luffy tested his Conqueror's Haki taming the Sea King of Foosha Village. Luffy even decided that he would train him to pull his ship for a while.

Ace began smiling more and was frowning less, except in a bad fight.

The now seventeen year old Ace and fourteen year old Luffy were at the docks of Foosha Village. Ace was leaving out to become a pirate now.

Ace was sporting a black jacket, some long blue jean shorts and a cowboy hat with two faces on it, one smiling and the other frowning.

Luffy was wearing a red sleeveless vest that was unbuttoned, blue shorts, sandals and Shanks' old straw hat.

"Are you sure you don't want to join my crew?" Ace asked Luffy.

"No way," Luffy told him.

"I'm proud of how strong and smart you've become, take care of yourself then Luffy, " Ace said to Luffy.

"You too big brother," said Luffy.


	4. Chapter 4

**_The Journey Begins_**

...3 weeks after Ace left...

Luffy awoke with a stretch before falling out of the tree, hitting his head on the ground. "Oh, Crap!" he groaned as he rubbed his head being pulled from his thoughts.

"LUFFY!" came a shout behind him. He spun around to see Monkey D. Garp, his grandfather behind him with a box of stale Rice Crackers in his hand. "What are you shouting about? You better not be trying to slack on your training!"

Luffy stared at Garp as he lowered his head so his hat shadowed his eyes. "Grandpa." he said in a low calm voice.

"Hmm?" Garp responded.

"Grandpa, I'm going to become King of the Pirates!"

Garp just narrowed his eyes at Luffy. "How many times must I tell you-"

"So I want you to teach me everything!" Luffy shouted, stopping Garp in the middle of his sentence. "Everything that you know. Where you moved so fast you disappeared. Where you jumped in the air like you were flying to get me down from those balloons you tied me to, even the things you know about survival and sailing the grand line." he said as he was trembling before he shouted "PLEASE TEACH ME EVERYTHING I NEED TO LEARN!" as a wave of Haki spread throughout the forest.

Garp just stared wide eyed at Luffy. To think that his Grandson had this much power at such a young age astounded him. 'It won't be long before his power equals mine,' he thought. His shock soon passed as he began laughing.

"So, you want me to teach you everything eh? Including those techniques which are called 'The Six Powers' as well?"

"Yes. I need to get stronger." he said as he got into a fighting stance. Garp smiled as he shoved a rice cracker in his mouth, he placed his box down and got ready as well.

"Alright brat. You asked for it. But you're still gonna become a marine and that's final!" he said. He and Luffy stared at each other for what felt like hours before they lunged at each other screaming.

...A few months later…

Garp stood with a proud expression on his face watching his grandson train. Luffy continued displaying his proficiency in the 'Six Powers' with ease. Garp wouldn't let Luffy rest during his visit.

"Good Luffy, if you keep this up you will be the Greatest Marine Hero of…" Garp praised.

"No way Gramps, I'm going to be the Pirate King," Luffy shouted before he could finish.

Garp frowned then in a burst of speed he appeared behind Luffy. Garp coated his fist in Armament Haki, then gave Luffy a powerful punch to the back of the head.

"Brat, you're going to be a Marine even if I have to give you 'Fist of Love' every morning," Garp berated.

"Humph," a grunt was Luffy's response.

That lead to more hours of sparring and training with Garp's 'Fist of Love'. Luffy was dog tired after eighteen hours of straight training.

"Gramps, I read a book about some really cool swords. I wanted to learn how to use one but I have no one to teach me. Can you teach me to be a swordsman?" Luffy asked.

"A swordsman huh, I don't use weapons, I only use my fists. Hmm, I'll find somebody to come show you the basics, but you better take training seriously or…" Garp responded then walked to Luffy and punched him on top of his head. Done checking his grandsons progress he walked off through the forest.

...2 years later...

It was time. He had trained under Garp and was now ready to cast off. Luffy took one last look around the forest he had grown up in and smiled. He took in a deep breath before rushing off to the bandit house.

"Dadan! Everyone! I'm leaving now." Luffy said as he peered inside the house. The bandits all looked at him while Dadan had her back turned to him.

"Good. Now we can finally get some peace around here, you little monster." Dadan said, not looking at Luffy at all. Luffy just smiled and was about to walk away, but turned back to them and said "I hate mountain bandits, but I like you guys."

"Will you just get out of here, you rotten brat?!" Dadan shouted through her tears that she failed to wipe them up with her hanky. Luffy's smile grew. He whispered, "Soru!" before he flashed off through the forest, running at speeds even he didn't know he could. In what felt like no time at all, he had already ran all the way to the docks of Foosha Village. Some of villagers were a little surprised to see Luffy appear out of nowhere, but they smiled anyway. Soon, the whole village appeared to see Luffy off, cheering him on and wishing him good luck.

"Well Mayor, he's off." said Makino as she smiled.

"Hmph." grumped Mayor Woop Slap. "Off to bring shame to our village no doubt."

"Alright everyone!" Luffy shouted as he untied his small ship. "I'm off!" Luffy raised the sails on his ship, then he slowly drifted away from his village, waving back to them all. "Bye Mayor! Bye Makino! Bye Everyone! Wish me luck!" Luffy shouted as he waved. His eyes glance right a bit as he felt a presence lurking under the water before his smile returned. Out from under the water rose the Lord of the Coast.

The Sea King rose from the depths of the sea eyeing Luffy's ship. It let out a strong growl as it approached from the starboard side. All the villagers started screaming for Luffy to get away, when the creature swam up to his ship.

Luffy gave a bright smile, while casually raising his hand to pet the Sea King. As Luffy's hand lifted towards the Sea King a small wave of Haki was released.

"Hey, there's a good boy, just follow behind our ship out of sight," Luffy said while patting its head.

The coastal lord nodded it's head then disappeared into the water.

"Sabo! Ace! I'm finally heading out to sea!" Luffy yelled.

It had been a few hours since Luffy left for his adventure.

Since there was nothing else to do, Luffy decided to go through some of the wanted posters for the East Blue. It could be good to know what he was up against, even if he's sure none of them were a threat. Every now and then, Luffy would look up to check his location making sure the ship was still on course.

After a while, Luffy began to notice a slight change in water pressure and the speed of the ship. Luffy's ship was coming up on pretty big whirlpool.

Luffy spread his Observation Haki out past the whirlpool. He could feel the auras of different groups of people. 'Probably on two different ships, looks like they will meet up soon,' he thought.

Luffy turned behind him stared for a moment then gave a sharp whistle. A few seconds later the Sea King was towering over the ship.

"It's a large whirlpool ahead, help me steer the ship around it. Stay under the water for now I don't want to scare off the other ships," Luffy told it.

After sailing around the whirlpool, Luffy's ship pulled within visual range of a passenger cruiser. The passenger ship was not too far off and being the friendly guy he was, Luffy decided to wave at it. The ship hands on deck smiled and waved back to the odd looking kid.

Suddenly the crew on board the passenger vessel visibly lost their calm. The sailor who waved yelled, "Pirate Ship, sound the alarm."

Looking closely, Luffy recognized the flag on the pirate ship. It was the lady pirate Alvida. This would be a good time to see the results of all the training he'd done.

Luffy waited until the Alvida's ship started raiding the passenger cruiser, before roping his ship to the cruiser. "Geppo!" he whispered. Then Luffy leapt into the sky, at the height of his jump he stepped out onto the air again and it seemed to solidify under his foot. Luffy climbed into one of the open windows, which luckily was the kitchen. The only problem was it was already someone inside.

As Luffy came in through the window, a small boy with pink hair, was crouched right in front of a barrel beside the opening. "Ahhhh!" The boy screamed in fright.

Luffy raised his arms in the air and gave the boy a genuine smile. "Hi I'm Luffy. I'm not going to hurt you," he said calmly to the boy.

The boy look worriedly at the teen in front of him. 'How did he get in here without using the door,' the small boy thought. With a slight stammer he responded, " I.. I'm C...Coby. How did you get in here? The door never opened."

Luffy gave him a nod, " I jumped through the window. So, Coby are you in here hiding from the pirates?" Luffy asked.

Coby lowered his head, with a look of sadness on his face. "Actually I'm one of the Pirates." Before Luffy could respond the door is slammed open by there large men.

"Coby why the hell are you screaming? Huh!! Who the hell are you?!" The man in front yelled.

Luffy looked at the men, shrugged his shoulders, faces Coby and says, " Hey Coby, you know where they keep the food?"

The three men frown, the one in lead yells out, "Listen brat we're pirates under lady Alvida. I'll beat your ass if…"

He was cut off when Luffy responded, "So? I'm hungry, help me find the pantry."

The pirates growled, unsheathing their swords to attack. "Die. You Punk."

Luffy frowned at the pirates. He glared at them for a split second, releasing a light wave of Haki, then the men tumbled to the floor unconscious.

Walking like nothing even happened, Luffy walked out the room and through the door that led to the pantry. Coby, who was shocked and scared of what happened, followed Luffy into the room. When he got there, he found Luffy eating apples out of a barrel.

"Who are you," asked Coby, now very interested in the teen before him. Luffy turned around after swallowing a few more apples.

"Your names Coby right? My name is Monkey D. Luffy, the man that will become King of the Pirates." Luffy stated his dream to him, but he didn't care what Coby thought of his words.

"You're...a pirate?" Coby croaked out.

"Yep."

"Crew?"

"Just me. For now." Luffy said as Coby froze as a statue.

"What? Being King of the Pirates means wanting to attain everything in this world. It means being the Strongest Pirate and finding the legendary One Piece! Fame, wealth, and power united in one man! It's simply impossible, impossible, it can't be..."

"Shut up." Luffy said it gently, but he imbued a tiny bit of Conqueror's Haki when he spoke. Coby stopped talking like his tongue had suddenly been glued to the top of his mouth.

"I don't care if it's impossible. I promised the man who gave me this hat that I'd become the Pirate King. And if I die trying, then I die." Luffy responded with a calm voice.

Coby seemed deeply struck by his words. He was also awed at his resolve. "I wonder if I can be like that." Coby said, his voice just above a whisper.

Luffy shrugged replying. "No reason why you can't."

"I have a dream," Coby whispered again. "It's nowhere near as amazing as yours, but I wonder if I can do it."

"Luffy. Do you think...if I tried...that I could become a Marine Admiral?"

"A Marine Admiral?" Luffy asked, with a look of surprise on his face.

Coby looked at him with determination. "It's always been my dream to be a marine and hunt down criminals! I know it would mean we'd be enemies, but do you think I could do it?"

"Doesn't matter what I think. It's your life. Only your opinion matters." Luffy responded with a smile.

Coby seemed to take that as a yes. Luffy looked to the ceiling, he sensed someone was eavesdropping with his Observation Haki.

"Then I'll do it. I'm not gonna be Alvida's cabin boy forever. I'm gonna join the marines! And then I'm gonna catch Alvida's ass first!" he screamed. Luffy stretched his arm out and pulled Coby towards his body. A second later the ceiling above them collapsed right where the pink haired boy was standing moments ago.

Amid the shower of wood and debris, Alvida landed and immediately filled the room. Luffy took a moment to marvel at just how fat the woman was.

"I was wondering where the hell you were hiding,while the others were loading our ship. And here I find you with a bounty hunter and entertaining thoughts of mutiny!"

Alvida glared at Coby, her face red with rage. "What was that about becoming a marine and catching me?" asked Alvida.

After three of her crew didn't come back, she suspected that something was up. Alvida cast a single glance at Luffy, assessing him quickly. "You're not that Pirate Hunter Zoro."

Luffy gave a slight smile, but stood there quietly.

Alvida barked Coby's name, making the boy cower in fear. "Who is the most lovely woman on the seas?"

"W-w-why that's y-you Lady Alvida?" Coby stammered out.

After Coby had stuttered through his standard response, Luffy spoke up. "Boa Hancock. Everyone knows that."

The pirate crew watching from the hole above them stared in fear and disbelief. You could hear a pin drop. While, Coby gaped at Luffy in horror, Alvida's face was just priceless.

Through gritted teeth, she snarled at Luffy "You got that wrong, pest. The right answer is always, me. Isn't that right Coby?"

"Alvida is..." Coby faltered a bit, but then looked at Luffy, then with cold determination yelled, "Alvida is the fattest, ugliest, most disgusting sea hag from here to Logue Town!"

A tic mark appeared on Alvida's rapidly reddening face. Coby watched in dread as Alvida's eyes went bloodshot and her mouth twisted into a murderous snarl. "I'LL KILL YOU, YOU DAMN BRAT!" she screamed as she raised her club. Coby shut his eyes, not wanting to see his death before it happened.

"Let's go." Luffy said to Coby before grabbing him by his shirt collar and jumping out of the hole Alvida made. Coby had the feeling of going through a wind tunnel for a brief second. Opening his eyes, Coby noticed he was now standing on the deck of the ship, next to Luffy.

Luffy straightened up and glanced at Alvida's crew. The pirates on deck all drew their swords in fear of the man who had moved faster than what's humanly possible. After a moment of hesitation they raised their swords high and charged. Luffy smirked and whispered, "Kami-e."

The smirking boy proceeded to float like a piece of paper through Alvida's charging subordinates. Every attack seemed to just miss, he wasn't even moving that fast. But no matter how desperately the men attacked, they couldn't seem to get a hit.

As they kept coming, Luffy seemed to get slightly annoyed, "Finger Pistol!" he whispered. Then his arms seemed to blur out of sight. Thirty seconds later, Luffy was standing on the deck over the unconscious Alvida Pirate crew. By the time Alvida, finally made her way out of the pantry and back onto the deck, her whole crew had beaten bloody.

"I've never seen any man move like that. You're not normal, are you?" she asked.

Luffy grinned and stretched his cheeks. "I ate the Gum Gum Fruit! I'm a rubber man!"

Coby's eyes about popped out of his head. Alvida merely nodded. "So, the Devil Fruits really do exist. Who the hell are you?"

Luffy grinned. "I'm Luffy, the man who's going to be King of the Pirates!"

Alvida grimaced. "So, you're a pirate too are you. Where's your crew?"

"For now I'm alone. But I'll probably get like 10 or 20!"

"Whatever." Her eyes darkened. Alvida growled as she raised her iron mace. Coby's eyes widened. He didn't even have time to shout out a warning before the iron mace came crashing down on Luffy…

Luffy smirked and uttered, "Armament: Tekkai." In an instant, his body tensed and darkened till completely black. The iron mace shattered like broken glass, when it connected to his body. Luffy gave her a half smile, then his arm seemed to stretch so far half of it was off the ship.

Coby watched as his preconceptions of the world were shattered right before his eyes. "Gum Gum...PISTOL!" Luffy screamed as he slammed his fist into Alvida's gut, sending her flying. She screamed until she was nothing but a star in the sky. Luffy's arm returned to normal before he looked back at Coby.

"The Marines will be here soon. You can try to join them, but it would be suspicious in this situation. In fact, they might just arrest you." Luffy told Coby, as he sensed them with his Observation Haki. Coby nodded sadly at that. "Why don't you come with me for now? It's probably a Marine base on the next island I'm headed to, maybe you can join there?" Luffy explained to him. "It would be a good starting place for you." Coby smiled and nodded enthusiastically.

Sensing a weak presence hiding in fear on a boat next to his ship, Luffy smiled. "HEADS UP!" He shouted in the direction of a small rowboat. He glanced to the boat, there was a girl dressed like a thief trying to hide what looked like a bag of gold. Luffy grabbed Coby then jumped off the passenger cruiser onto his ship. Luffy continued to cut loose the ropes and set sail.

Luffy grabbed a book, from the small collection he had began to read. Looking up from the book, Luffy saw that Coby was casually looking around with nothing to do. Sighing, Luffy handed him a book on devil fruits and turned his attention back to his own book.

The two read as they sailed, Luffy looking for his crew and Coby to join the Marines.


	5. Chapter 5

**_Pirate Hunter Roronoa Zoro_**

The girl's eyes widened comically and she gasped, when she heard the teen yell at her. She had been planning to get away while she still had a chance, but he had found her somehow. This guy…he was dangerous.

She was now calmly assessing the situation. She knew Shells Town was on the same island as the closest Marine Branch. She was planning to go there herself to investigate a lead she had acquired. Using her quick wit she yells out to the small ship before they get too far away.

"Hey, you two mind giving a girl ride I'm trying to get to Shells Town."

Luffy and Coby look up from their books staring at a young lady in a rowboat. Coby looks up at Luffy waiting on his reply.

"Sure, I don't mind you hitching a ride. Just make sure you don't try to steal my hat!" Luffy responded.

Nami was stunned by his statement. 'Why would I want your Straw-Hat,' she thought. She looked up as the ship approached her boat. Only to notice, the teen with the Straw-Hat had a huge grin on his face while staring at her.

After the girl tied her rowboat on to the ship, Coby tried to grab one of her bags for her.

"Hey small fry leave my bags alone, just because you gave me a lift doesn't mean I trust you!" the young lady told him. Coby flinched then backed away.

Once she was on the ship Luffy walked up to her, his hat shading his face from view. He was giving off a powerful yet, completely calm aura. He stood over her, lifted his arm in front of her. The girl was starting to sweat bullets, heavily intimidated from his presence.

Luffy raised his head and gave a bright smile, "Hi, I'm Luffy and he's Coby. So what's your name?" he asked her.

"Thanks for the help Luffy. I'm 'Nojiko'," she responded and shook his hand. Though she was still leary of both the guys.

She was thinking to herself, 'There's no way I'm telling him my real name. He just single-handedly defeated a notorious pirate crew in a couple minutes,'. She had taken down one of Alvida's cronies herself, but only because she'd been spotted stealing their treasure. She would never attempt something so outrageous and stupid. She wondered if this guy was a pirate, but decided against asking.

Luffy nodded and accepted her name without further question. 'Nojiko' concluded that he was a bit dense, which was good to know. There was no point telling him anything that he could potentially use to find her. Chances they'd ever set foot on her home island were slim, so the name she had picked didn't matter much.

...4 hours later…

"It seems we are almost at the navy base Coby." Luffy said calmly.

Coby looked at him and frowned. "You should be more concerned Luffy. This navy base is where they are holding Pirate Hunter Zoro, the man is said to be a bloodthirsty demon." Coby seemed a bit afraid, but Luffy wasn't worried.

'Nojiko' watched as Luffy and Coby had their conversation. Now she wondered if she had simply misjudged him. Maybe he wasn't as dangerous as she thought. Sure, he was definitely unnaturally strong. She was even pretty sure she'd seen his arm stretch. She couldn't see clearly from her boat so she dismissed those thoughts. She really wished he could defeat Arlong.

She concluded from his behavior so far that he wasn't going to harm her at least, but she still wasn't certain if he would be able to help her village.

'Hopefully he is comfortable enough to let me ask some simple questions,' she thought. "Excuse me, Luffy?"

He turned to her. "Yeah, what's up?" he responded.

"Why are you heading to Shells Town?". She wouldn't tell him that she herself was going to steal a map of the Grand Line.

"I'm going there to meet someone. I'm going to ask them if they want to come on a journey with me," Luffy said in a matter of fact, like of tone. "And I'm taking Coby here to join the Marines!"

'Nojiko' looked at Luffy too see if he would elaborate, but he didn't he just turned back around to continue chatting with Coby. 'Nojiko' was wondering, 'Maybe, Luffy is a bounty hunter. That would explain his monstrous strength, but why didn't he turn in Alvida's bounty?' it didn't really matter. She had a map to steal.

When they finally arrived on the island, 'Nojiko' and Coby had gotten off and Luffy tied up his ship.

"Alright." she said as she stared at Luffy for a moment. "This is where we part ways. Thanks again Luffy." She took her bag of treasure and ran off, leaving them both to do whatever they wanted. Luffy just laughed as he watched her leave.

"I like her. She seemed nice, maybe next time we meet she'll tell us her real name," Luffy said as he continued laughing.

"I still can't believe you wanted to come here." Coby said as they both started walking into town.

"You wanted to join the marines right?" Luffy asked as he was looking at a fruit vendor. "Well then here's your chance." he said. He bought a few tangerines and a couple green melons before eating each one. Coby smiled at the thought of his dream coming true.

"Thanks Luffy." Coby said with gratitude in his voice.

"Sure thing Coby, now how about we find where their holding this famous Pirate Hunter Zoro!" Luffy responded.

As soon as he spoke Zoro's name, everyone in town backed away from him in fear. Luffy just grinned at everyone's reaction.

Coby yelled as they started walking again. "Haven't you heard what they said about that guy? He's a Pirate HUNTER. They say he is mean and vicious. That he comes after people like a demon, always leaving them in a pool of blood!"

"So?" Luffy asked. "If he's strong, I want him in my crew. Besides, he sounds cool." he said before he looked forward again as he asked, "Who runs the marine base here again?"

"Captain Morgan." Coby said. Just like with Zoro, all the townsfolk backed against the walls of the buildings. Luffy burst into laughter thinking how funny all this was.

"I'd expect that reaction from hearing Zoro's name, but from Captain Morgan's?" Coby said as they kept walking. Luffy just pulled his hat over his eyes as he frowned in thought. 'Morgan was probably one of many 'honorable marines' that even kill civilians, all in the name of upholding their twisted sense of justice.'

"Maybe he's a bad guy," Luffy offered.

"No way! He's a Marine officer! Of course he's a good guy!" Coby responded.

"Here it is." Coby said. They both looked up at the the buildings, surrounded by a stone wall with an iron gate that read MARINES on it. The base seem to have two tall cylinder shaped buildings with several different buildings around it. It wasn't a pretty sight either.

Coby couldn't believe his eyes as he prepared to enter, only to notice a moment later that Luffy was now hanging off the wall, peering over it. "What are you doing Luffy?!"

"Looking for Zoro." Luffy replied before jumping off to move further down to the wall and jump up to peer over it again. Coby walked over to him.

"He wouldn't be out in the middle of the base Luffy." Coby said as he started to climb up next to Luffy.

"Then who's that?" Luffy asked. Coby looked at where Luffy was looking before nearly having a heart attack at the sight of him. There, in the middle of the yard, tied to what looked like a 'T' shaped wooden post was Roronoa Zoro. He wore a white shirt, black pants, black combat boots, a green sash around his waist, and a black bandana covering his green hair with 3 earings on his left ear. Though he looked like crap, he was emanating a dangerous aura around himself.

"No way." Coby squeaked out. "It's really him. Pirate Hunter Zoro." Luffy stared at Zoro with a smile under his hat.

Luffy just smiled again as he saw a small ladder leaned against the stone wall next to him and Coby. He looked to his side to see a little girl with big brown eyes and brown hair tied into little pigtails. At the top of the ladder with a finger to her lips, telling them to be quiet before jumping over to the other side. Luffy watched her while Coby started freaking out, calling to the girl to stop. She walked over to Zoro smiling.

"You must be hungry." she said, clearly not intimidated by Zoro glaring at her. "I made you some food."

"Whatever it is, take it and scram kid." Zoro responded.

"They're rice balls." she said as she opened the clothed item in her hands, revealing three big white rice balls.

"They're my first time making them, so I hope they're tasty." Luffy watched as Zoro looked at them like a starved animal before looking back at the girl. "I don't want those kid. Leave me alone."

"But-"

"Do you have a hearing problem or something?" he shouted, clearly losing his patience. He was about to say more, but was stopped when a group had started walking towards them both.

"So aggressive, Zoro." came a whiney voice. Everyone looked to see a few marine soldiers around a blond lanky kid with his hair in an oval shape on his head. He wore a purple suit, white shoes, and a smug grin as walked towards them. Zoro sneered as the man looked at the girl. "Oh. Rice balls? Don't mind if I do." he said as he took one and started eating it.

"Hey! That's for Zoro, not you meanie," the little girl said before the blond teen spit the food out in disgust.

"What is this?! It's got sugar in it. You're supposed to use Salt! Salt!" He yelled at her in anger.

"But I thought it would taste better if it was sweet." she said, sounding sad.

"Well you thought wrong you little brat!" he screamed as he knocked the other rice balls out of her hand and started stomping both them into the dirt.

"Stop!" she screamed, trying to get him to stop, but failed as he kept stomping until it was nothing but a white pile of mud with his shoe print on them. She stared at it as she teared up and sniffled. "But I...I worked so...so hard on those."

"Ugh. This is why I hate kids." the teen said. "Don't you know the rules of this base kid? Anyone who helps criminals in anyway are to be executed on sight. By order of Captain Axe Hand Morgan, my father." He watched the little girl pale before ordering one of the marines to throw her over the wall.

"But...but Helmeppo sir. She's just a little girl." the marine said. Helmeppo grabbed him by the collar before pulling him face to face.

"I said throw her over the wall. If you're not gonna follow my orders, I may have to tell my father of your insubordination," he said. The marine looked frightened, but lowered his head as he walked over and picked the girl up and walked toward the fence. He told her to curl into a ball before lobbing her over the wall as she screamed.

Coby looked horrified as he watched her get tossed over and head for the ground. He closed his eyes, waiting to hear her smack into the ground. Her screaming stopped and both Coby and the girl opened their eyes to see that Luffy was standing there, holding her up. Coby looked at where Luffy was a moment ago, then back at where he was now, blinking few times.

'How'd he get over there that fast?' he thought as Luffy set her down, asking if she was okay.

"Yeah. I'm fine." she said looking up at Luffy who just smiled.

"That's good. You should go home now. You're mother must be worried about you." Luffy said as he looked back at the town. He waved her goodbye as she left with a small smile before he turned back to the fence and climbed back up to hang on it and look at Zoro and Helmeppo.

"You really are a stubborn one. Aren't you Roronoa Zoro?" Helmeppo said in a smug tone.

"That's right." Zoro said as he glared back at him. "I'm gonna survive the whole month, then leave as per our agreement. And you better not back out of your part."

"I wouldn't dream of it Zoro." he said with a laugh as they headed back towards the base. Luffy jumped over the wall and walked up to Zoro. Zoro looked up at his face.

"You still haven't left yet? Leave now, or else he'll go tell his dad about it," Zoro warned Luffy.

"I'm not scared of him or his dad," Luffy replied with a smile, "I'm looking for strong people to join my pirate crew."

"Pirate? Why would you want to become a pirate?" Zoro asked.

"It's my dream," Luffy replied, "There's nothing wrong with me being a pirate."

"Are you here to release me, then force me into your crew?" Zoro asked.

"I haven't made up my mind yet. I thought I'd check you out before I decide," Luffy told him honestly.

"Well I have other matters to take care of. So I won't be able to join you. If I can just hold on for a month, I will be set free," Zoro responded, "Once I'm free, I'm going to go fulfill my dream."

"What's your dream?" Luffy asked excitedly.

"If you really want to know, I'm going to become the greatest swordsman to ever live," Zoro answered.

"Really! That's cool, Zoro" Luffy responded, "I'm going to become Pirate King and the Strongest Haki user ever known!"

"Pirate King, seriously? And you're a Haki user? Damn I've heard about it, but I never seen any one using it," Zoro responded.

"Well I better get going," Luffy responded. Luffy turned to leave, suddenly stopping and smiled as he heard Zoro speak again.

"Wait. Before you go, can you get that for me?" Zoro asked as he looked back at the crushed food. Luffy bent down to pick up the food. "You mean this?" he asked. "It's got more dirt than rice in it now."

"I don't care. Give it to me! Every grain of rice!" he said as he opened his mouth. Luffy looked at him as he threw the mud ball into Zoro's mouth. He watched as Zoro choked the food down before coughing a bit.

"Told ya," Luffy stated.

"Delicious." Zoro said in a quiet voice with his head down. "Tell her I enjoyed the food." he finished. Luffy just smiled as he headed towards the wall.

Back in town inside a restaurant, Luffy and Coby were talking with the little girl named Rika.

"He liked it?" she asked with a big smile.

"Yep. Every grain." Luffy said as she sighed in relief. "I'm glad." she said.

"I don't get it. He doesn't seem like the bad guy that everyone says he is." Coby said.

"He's not a bad guy at all!" Rika screamed. "He's in there because...because of me." she said.

She then went on to explain how about a month ago, Helmeppo owned a wolf that he used to terrorize her in their restaurant but Zoro protected her. Helmeppo saw this an act of aggression towards him and threatened to execute the mother and daughter unless Zoro stayed imprisoned for a month.

"If anyone are bad guys, it's Helmeppo and his rotten father." she finished.

Luffy stayed quiet as he listened, because he had heard of Marines like that. Coby also couldn't believe that a marine would abuse his power in such a manner. Both were brought out of there thoughts as they heard crashing coming from the doors. They watched as Helmeppo came in, his face in a scowl as he sat down at a table before knocking a bowl of fruit off of it. Luffy looked over to see 'Nojiko' again in the crowd watching the commotion, before smiling again.

"Gimme your food and best drink on the house woman!" he screamed in bit of a high voice. As she poured him a drink, he began talking. "Stupid swordsman if he thinks I'll let him live he's so very wrong. After a good night's sleep I'll execute Zoro in the morning."

"Who will you execute tomorrow?" said Luffy as he appeared behind Helmeppo. Helmeppo froze and his eyes widened. He slowly turned around to see a grinning Luffy standing behind him. Luffy's fist collided with his face. As the punch connected, Helmeppo turned blue in the face as his mouth hung open, before his body flew into the wall. Helmeppo' eyes rolled in the back of his head showing pure whites, leaving Luffy to howl with laughter.

"What a weakling." he said as the marines who accompanied Helmeppo carried him off towards the marine base. Luffy stopped laughing as he muttered. "Zoro is definitely joining my crew."


	6. Chapter 6

**_"Straw-Hat Luffy vs Axe Hand Morgan"_**

Luffy was walking towards the marine base again, while Coby was yelling at him not to do anything even more stupid.

"Are you okay with this?" Luffy suddenly asked as he looked back at Coby. Coby stopped ranting as he listened to Luffy.

"Are you okay leaving this place as it is with marines like Morgan and Helmeppo in charge?" Coby slowly let Luffy's question sink in as he remembered how everyone reacted around them.

"Well no-", Coby started.

"Then shut up and follow me." Luffy said with a smile as he started walking again.

Not caring if anyone saw, Luffy walked into the execution yard through the front gate and right up to Zoro. Luffy whispered, "Tempest Blade!", using his hand to cut Zoro loose from his bindings.

Zoro was awakened from his sleep and almost stumbled to the ground. He looked around, remembering where he was before he saw Luffy standing in front of him and frowned again. "You again? What the hell are you doing? I only have 10 days left!" he asked.

Luffy smiled, as he said "I want you to join my pirate crew." Zoro just raised his eyebrow at him, before even getting to answer Luffy spoke again.

"Helmeppo is going to kill you tomorrow. I have decided otherwise."

A look of shock appeared on the swordsman face. Zoro was very disappointed at the thought that he could have been killed without knowing. He wouldn't even have came close to his promise of become the world's greatest swordsman. This pirate who didn't know him from a random beggar had saved his life and more importantly his dream.

"I owe you my life," Zoro stated with resolve.

"Don't mention it Zoro," Luffy responded.

"No. I have never forgotten a debt or a favor someone has done for me. As of now I'm one of your crew members, a pirate. My dream is to be the world's greatest swordsman. As long as you never interfere with that, we will be good," Zoro told him.

"The Pirate King would have nothing less than the greatest swordsman; welcome aboard Zoro," Luffy replied with a smile.

"By the way, where are you swords Zoro?" Luffy asked. Zoro explained that Morgan's son took them away. Luffy smiled again. "Alright then, let's go get your swords then."

He then smiled and stretched his arms out, rocketing over to the building, freaking Zoro out as he did. Luffy looked up at the roof sensing everyone was up there for some reason, and decided to figure out what. He then stretched his hand up to the roof, but slowly pulled himself up to see instead of flying over everyone with Geppo. When he got up there, he peeked over the top to see the marines pulling up a giant statue that looked just like Morgan. He frowned as he looked and saw Morgan himself up there as well.

He was a tall man with blond hair and tan skin. He wore a Marine Captain's jacket, a blueish black button up shirt, pants that changed from light blue to dark blue all over it, and brown boots. He also had what looked like some weird metal jaw over his lower jaw, and an axe instead of a right hand. He also wore an annoyed look on his face due to Helmeppo yelling at him to kill Luffy for striking him.

"Even you've never hurt me before father!" he said.

"Do you know why I've never hurt you?" Morgan asked.

"I-it's because I'm your beloved son, fath-"

"WRONG!" he shouted as he hit Helmeppo with his fist. "It's because you're a fool who's not worth striking!" He then hoisted him up by his collar with the tip of his axe and brought him to his face. "I allow you to use my status because it doesn't bother me. But don't you forget the main thing, I am the one who is great!" he bellowed before dropping him. Luffy just listened with a bored expression, but perked up when Morgan mentioned a little girl.

"A girl? Yes I dealt with her." Helmeppo said.

"Then that means she's dead right?" Morgan asked.

"What? No. She's just a little kid." Helmeppo said.

"You there. Find that girl and kill her!" Morgan ordered one of his men.

"What? I can't do that."

"Did I just hear you say you won't obey my orders?" Morgan said as he walked over towards the marine. "I said kill that little girl!"

"I...I won't. I won't do it!" the marine said. Morgan brought his axe down, aiming to kill the marine. His blade was stopped less than an inch away from the marine's shoulder, much to his and everyone else's surprise.

"That's enough." said Luffy. He had stepped in and was now holding Morgan's Axe in place with his thumb and forefinger, anger in his tone at Morgan's attempt to kill the man.

"What the?! Who are you?!" Morgan bellowed as he glared at Luffy. He tried pulling his axe away, but he couldn't budge it. Everyone stared before Helmeppo started screaming.

"It's him daddy! That's the guy who struck me!" Helmeppo said, as he pointed at Luffy. Morgan glared at Luffy before bringing his fist towards him.

"BASTARD!" he screamed. Luffy smiled under his hat before he disappeared just before Morgan's fist hit him. Everyone went wide eyed as they looked around for him.

"Over here Dumbass." Luffy said, gaining their attention. He was standing between the marines and the statue they were pulling. He then looked at the ropes before quickly bringing his left leg up in one swift motion. Nothing happened as he lowered his leg and muttered "Tempest kick."

No sooner did he say that, the ropes were all sliced, letting the giant statue fall back and break in half, leaving the top half to fall and shatter on impact. Everyone just gaped at Luffy, who was smiling at them all.

"SEIZE THAT DAMN BASTARD NOW!" Morgan bellowed to his subordinates.

"Hey you." Luffy said as he appeared before Helmeppo, who just looked at him for a second before screaming and trying to run away. Luffy grabbed him by the neck like a vice, as he smiled again. "You got something I need." he said before disappearing with a burst of speed through the doorway into the base.

"He's got Helmeppo!" a marine yelled.

"Bring me that straw hatted fool!" Morgan ordered. "And one of you. Find and kill that little brat from earlier!"

"Captain. Someone's has freed the prisoner from the yard!" shouted one of the marines who was pointing down at Coby and Zoro.

"I'm surrounded by treason!" Morgan growled as a vein stood out on his forehead.

… With Luffy...

"Now where's Zoro's sword, jerk?" Luffy asked as he ran through the base, dragging Helmeppo along with him.

"I'll tell you where they are! Just stop dragging me across the carpet!" he shrieked. Luffy stopped as he looked at Helmeppo, who pointed down the direction they came from. "My room down there on the left. You just past it."

"Why didn't you say so earlier? Now we gotta go back," Luffy berated him.

"Drop Helmeppo and put your hands up!" shouted a marine as he and his comrades pointed their guns at Luffy.

Luffy looked at them, while releasing a light wave Conqueror's Haki. The Marines fell on the floor foaming and unconscious. He then continued on to Helmeppo's room.

...Meanwhile...

Zoro and Coby were waiting in the training grounds for Luffy to return.

"You got a death wish kid? If they catch you, they'll kill you on sight." Zoro said.

"I can't sit back and watch these marines anymore. They're bringing shame to what a true marine is," Coby responded boldly.

"Hold it right there!" bellowed Morgan as the marines aimed their guns at them. Zoro and Coby both looked at him in surprise.

… Back with Luffy...

"Yep. This is your room alright." Luffy said as he looked around the girly room that was Helmeppo's. He immediately eyed Zoro's swords and smiled as he walked over to them. "Found them. Thanks for your help." he said before he dropped an unconscious Helmeppo on the floor. He then tied the swords onto his back, then walked to the window, spotting Morgan and the marines, all ready to kill Zoro and Coby. "Better get down there." he said before stretching his arms out and flying out the window.

"FIRE!" Morgan shouted before the marines fired away. Zoro and Coby looked away, expecting death. None of them expected Luffy to appear before them and step in front of the path of the bullets.

"WHAT THE HELL?!" Zoro shouts.

"LUFFY STOP!" Coby yells.

"STRAW-HAT!" Captain Morgan roared angrily.

Luffy just smiled as the bullets stretched back his body before he bounced them all back, laughing that it was useless as the marines ducked to avoid being hit. Zoro just stared at him as he asked what he was. Luffy turned around with a smile and a thumbs up. "I'm a rubber man. I ate the Gum-Gum Devil Fruit!"

Morgan narrowed his eyes as he thought of the rumors of the Devil fruit. How eating one granted you a power of the Sea Devil, but made the ocean reject you and took away your ability to swim.

Zoro stared in shock for a moment before nodding his head. Luffy gave the the three swords to Zoro, while Morgan ordered his men to attack.

"If guns won't work, use your swords!" Morgan bellowed. Soon, all the marines were charging at them, ready to cut them down. Zoro unsheathed his blades, and stop the marine's attacks in mid swing.

"Whoa!" Coby said, while Luffy just smiled.

"Move and you die." Zoro threatened through his clenched teeth, causing the other marines to cry.

"Heh. You're a bold one." Zoro said with a smile. Luffy just shrugged and declined to answer.

"What are you standing around for?!" Morgan shouted again. "Kill all of them now!"

"Zoro. Duck." Luffy said before he pulled his leg back. Zoro ducked as Luffy called out "Gum Gum...WHIP!" as his leg stretched out and swatted the marines away.

"Gum-Gum fruit! This is insane!" one of the marines said, snapping Morgan out of his thoughts. He listened as the marines starting saying they were too strong to beat and that didn't stand a chance against the two of them.

"THIS IS AN ORDER! THOSE WHO JUST SPOUTED WEAKNESS, TAKE YOUR GUNS AND SHOOT YOURSELVES!" he shouted. All the marines stared at him as he went on. "I HAVE NO USE FOR COWARDLY WEAKLINGS LIKE YOU LOT!"

"The only weakling I see is you Bastard!" Luffy said as he glared at Morgan. He smirked as Morgan glared right back as a few veins started sticking out on his face and neck. Morgan seemed to snap as he threw his coat off.

"YOU LITTLE PIECE OF SHIT! I AM THE GREAT CAPTAIN 'AXE HAND' MORGAN!", he roared ballistically.

"Hi. I'm Luffy. Nice to meet you." he said. Zoro sliced the marines to ribbons then sheathed his swords, watching to see what his new Captain could do. Luffy called out to him, "Zoro. This is my first order. No matter what happens, don't interfere. Got it?" Zoro nodded, wondering what Luffy would do, as his captain walked towards Morgan.

"Hey Moron," Luffy called to him.

"It's MORGAN!", the captain yelled.

"Your name doesn't matter really. How about I take it easy on you if you cut off your other hand and leave?" Luffy said. This got everyone's attention as Luffy smiled.

"DAMN BASTARD do you believe you can somehow win against, THE GREAT CAPTAIN MORGAN?" Morgan asked, seething with rage and preparing to cut this Luffy down.

"Whatever. And since I'm a fair man, I won't move" he said as he placed his straw hat to his chest before closing his eyes and bowing his head "and I'll let you attack first."

Everyone was now gaping at Luffy, thinking he really was insane as Morgan smiled.

"Heh. Fine you little brat. NOW DIE, YOU SHIT!" Morgan screamed as he raised his axe. He brought it down towards Luffy with all his strength, ready to kill him then and there. Everything seemed to slow down as Morgan's Axe, which was the bane of everyone on the island, was connecting with Luffy's head. Luffy muttered lowly, "Armament: Tekkai," before it shattered, stunning everyone.

"WHAAAAT?!" Morgan screamed in horror at the sight of his now destroyed axe. The marines jaws hit the ground while, Coby fainted. Zoro stood there, wide eyed at the sight. He then noticed that the top of Luffy's head that the axe struck had changed into a dark black color before returning to normal. Luffy smiled as he placed his hat back on his head and made a fist.

"Ready for death." He said with a smirk, before delivering a punch to Morgan's gut, making him puke up blood as he was sent crashing into the marine base. The punch caused Morgan to break several bones, basically flirting with death. He crashed into his son who was looking for them with a gun. Everyone just stared at the hole, while Luffy glared. "I win. Anybody else, have a problem that needs solved!" he said, holding up his bloody fist. The marines all looked at each other before cheering about Morgan's defeat. Luffy just smiled as Zoro tapped Coby with his foot to wake him up.

Back in the restaurant, Luffy and Zoro were eating food like there was no tomorrow, while Coby was already finished.

"Ahhhh. That hit the spot." Zoro said. "Three weeks with no food really sucked."

"If it was me, I'd die after a week." Luffy managed to say with a full mouth of food.

"How can you eat more than me anyway?" Zoro asked. Luffy just shrugged at his question.

"Please, eat all you want." Rika's mother said with a smile, happy that the town was free from Morgan's reign of terror.

"I'm sorry. You're feeding me, even though I wasn't any help." Coby said.

"It's alright." she said, as she watched a orange haired lady walk in passing by her.

Luffy smiles at 'Nojiko', who appeared casually but was looking fearful of Luffy. Zoro gave her a glance, then spoke to Luffy. 'Nojiko', shifted uncomfortably under his scrutinizing gaze.

"So Luffy. Who else is on our crew?" Zolo asked.

"Just Us," Luffy replied.

"Wait. Just...you and me?" he asked, pointing at them both.

"For right now," Luffy responded.

"Our ship?" Zoro asked.

"I have a small ship tied up at the docks. Don't worry Zoro I have it all under control," Luffy explained to him. Zoro just have a firm nod in response.

"Who are your friends, Luffy?" he finally asked, breaking off the eye contact, much to the relief of 'Nojiko'.

Luffy nodded in acknowledgement. "The kid with the pink hair is Coby. He wants to become a Marine. As for the girl, she doesn't want to tell me her real name."

He said it as if it was the common knowledge to the entire world. 'Nojiko' on the other hand, had immediately tensed up and she put up her guard. 'He saw right through me and went with it!' she thought to herself. She didn't know what to feel, but she did know this man frightened her. Zoro raised his eyebrow at Luffy, but Luffy just shrugged it off and smiled.

Before they could discuss more, the marines arrived. For a while they just stared at each other, both parties quietly building the tension. Everyone in the bar had put their conversations on hold and looked on. "You two are pirates?" the new leader asked.

"Yep." They said together.

"I see. As marines, we cannot harbor pirates, so we must ask that you leave this island immediately." he said, causing the villagers around them to go into an angry uproar.

"You guys were scared too," one male citizen spoke.

"They're our saviors, as well as yours you jerk," a lady at a table yelled.

"However, we will not report you to HQ for a few weeks as we 'lost' our paperwork," the Marine leader said with a slight cough.

"Alright." Luffy said before standing up. "Let's go Zoro." he said as he and Zoro walked towards the door, with 'Nojiko', worriedly trailing right behind them.

"And what about you?" the marine asked Coby. "Aren't you their friend?" he asked. Coby just stared at them as he turned back to Luffy. "Is this guy your friend?" Luffy looked back at him before smirking.

"Actually, he's a cabin boy." Luffy said. Coby went wide eyed as Luffy began to speak about Alvida, wishing for him to shut up or they won't let him in.

"And Coby here, well he-" Luffy said before Coby punched Luffy.

"SHUT UP!" he yelled. Zoro smiled as Luffy looked at Coby with a grin.

"You bastard!" Luffy shouted before he landed a solid punch to Coby's gut.

"Enough!" shouted the marine as Zoro held Luffy back. "It's clear that you guys are not friends! Leave this island at once!" he shouted.

Both of them left while Coby lay on the floor, realizing that Luffy helped him yet again.

"Sir. I wish to join the marines." Coby said as he stood up straight and looked the marine in the eye.

"Sir, I advise against this. Pirates are known to plant spies in the marines," another Marine spoke up.

"I wish to join the marines to carry out real justice and to stop all criminals!" Coby said with a steeled determination. The leader looked at Coby before tilting his hat down and stood next to him.

"I've seen many of marines stronger than you die at the hands of pirates. This life will not be easy. But you're in kid."

Coby smiled, realizing that his dream had finally come true.

Luffy smiled as they sailed away when he sensed Coby, Rika, and her mother.

"LUFFY!" Coby shouted before throwing him a salute. "Thank you for everything. I will never forget this kindness!" Luffy and Zoro smiled before the rest of the marines showed up and saluted them as well. Coby looked back at the leader, who looked to his men.

"You have some good friends there kid." he said. "Men, what we've done is a complete violation against all we stand for. Therefore, no food for three days." he ordered.

"YES SIR!"

"SEE YA!" Luffy shouted as he waved them all goodbye. He then turned back to the sea, ready to get on with his adventure.


End file.
